Using Pattern to Balance Texture

Aren’t they pretty much the same? Not really; pattern is repetition, order and uniformity, whereas texture is the physical and the perceived surface of an object.

In this work of art I finished recently you can see the balance of the two. The strict pattern of the script writing in the piece along with the loose tonal pattern helps balance the overall textures in the work. There is more than the brush texture of the piece, there is also the overlapping individual shapes that create its own texture. The pattern actually creates a calm transitional influence from the painted background to the foreground shapes. The piece would not work nearly as well without the script, without the pattern the viewer would feel just a bit disjointed. This way the excitement the slightly disjointed shapes remains without being overwhelming.